Week 1 is in the books, I'm back from my golf trip and itching to see my first high school grid action this Friday.
Portage Trail Conference teams will face three non-league opponents before entering division play on Sept. 12. The non-league schedule provides teams the opportunity to travel outside the area to pick up new rivals or to play old rivals that are not in its current division. Many teams also step up a division in an effort to gain computer points.
BIG 3 WIN - When the dust cleared in the County Division Friday night the trio of preseason favorites had each claimed an opening-season victory, while the remaining five division teams were not so successful.
Mogadore, Garfield, and Streetsboro were at the top of the list of most County Division coaches in the preseason. All three had impressive victories to start this year's campaign.
Mogadore traveled to Mineral Ridge to meet the Division V team that was 8-2 last year and just missed the state playoffs. Sophomore Kodey Chance appears to have picked up where Cody Destro left off running out of the Wildcat backfield.
Chance ran for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Chad White got his first start at QB and also threw for a touchdown in the 27-7 win. Victories like this one help the Cats obtain sufficient computer points for their annual entry into the state playoffs.
Garfield was impressive in shutting out Cardinal 21-0. The G-Men defense was smothering and held Cardinal to only one first down and 14 rushing yards.
The Huskies could gain only 39 total yards against the G-Men iron curtain.
The annual season opener for Garfield against Cardinal has always been a backyard battle and close game. The G-Men are playing down a division when they play Cardinal.
The Garfield match-up this week is very important when they meet Champion. Champion shut out Garfield last year 28-0 and opened the season last week with a win over Edgewood 20-17. Edgewood is a Division III team, while both Garfield and Champion are Division IV.
Streetsboro has some talented athletes and rolled over Independence, 37-20, with a high-powered offense last Friday. I believe the Rockets will be in the thick of the PTC County Division race this season.
Streetsboro is the only Division III team in the County Division. The Division III, Region 9 computer region is the home of six of the eight PTC Metro Division schools: Field, Southeast, Crestwood, Ravenna, Coventry, and Norton. The Rockets and Aurora also reside in that computer region.
Streetsboro's victory over Independence is a great way to start the season however the next two weeks are very important to the Rockets when they play teams like Ravenna and Crestwood. Streetsboro has outgrown the County Division and will play seven division games against schools much smaller, so these two games could help the Rockets make the postseason.
NORTH IMPRESSIVE - Akron North has long been a doormat in the Akron City Series. Last season the Vikings began a rebuilding effort that netted a 5-5 record. This season they appear to have speed to burn. North made it look like a track meet Friday at Rootstown when they rushed for 479 yards and scored five times from outside 60 yards.
Rover head coach Randy McCoy will attempt to regroup his team and notch his first win as a head coach when they host Jackson-Milton this week. The Bluejays opened their season with a pair of PTC teams after beating Windham last week 30-8.
BOMBERS HAD CHANCE - Windham head coach Jerry Kiser said he was real impressed with junior Jesse Burns Friday night when he stepped up to replace injured quarterback Kyle Cooper.
"Jesse did a fantastic job, and we had every opportunity to win the game with his leadership. Every time we would get inside the 20-yard line, we would shoot ourselves in the foot," said Kiser. The Bomber coach said he was impressed with the rebuilding job done by the staff at Jackson-Milton.
Windham will travel to McDonald Friday to meet the always-tough Blue Devils, who have a tradition of making the playoffs. McDonald made the playoffs last season and Kiser said he believes they are tougher this year.
METRO POWER - When Field and Waterloo met last Friday, the only thing that was assured in this rivalry was the fact one of the first-year coaches would win his first game as a head coach.
Field coach Pat Youel gained the win with a 28-0 victory and proved that the Falcons could be in the Metro Division hunt again this year.
Waterloo coach Mike Bohley needs his Vikings to hang onto the football if he expects to earn a victory this week against Malvern. Waterloo gave the Falcons great field position three times on turnovers and Field converted each possession.
Waterloo quarterback Dylan Wartluft was sidelined against Field. He is probably one of the best signal callers in the PTC and can carry the Vikings on his back. He will have to do that Friday for the Vikings to stop the high-powered Malvern offense. The Hornets beat Lowellville last Friday night 49-13.
MAKE THE CALL - My annual plea goes out to local coaches in an effort to make sure they report games on Friday night. We do not have enough guys to cover every game every week. I understand coaches have spent a long week to prepare, and after a 60-minute battle, they might not feel like making a call to the Record-Courier.
Many times the sports staff has attempted to contact coaches late to get game information on Friday nights. This year's new 7 p.m. start should help provide more time after games.